The probate court in Florida is the branch of the circuit court that supervises how a deceased person’s assets are identified, debts and taxes are paid, and remaining property is distributed to the people legally entitled to it. It validates the will (if one exists), appoints and oversees the personal representative, and resolves disputes among heirs, creditors, and beneficiaries. In short, it is the legal authority that makes sure an estate is wound down honestly and in the right order before anyone receives a distribution.
If you are a beneficiary waiting for your share of an estate, the probate court is the body standing between the date someone passed away and the day money or property actually reaches your hands. Understanding what that court does — and what it does not do — is the difference between waiting in the dark and knowing where things stand.
What Is the Probate Court in Florida?
Florida does not have a separate “probate court” the way some states do. Probate matters are handled within the circuit court of the county where the decedent lived at the time of death. In Palm Beach County, for example, probate cases are filed with the Clerk of the Circuit Court and assigned to a circuit judge sitting in the probate division. The judge who hears your matter is a regular circuit judge wearing a probate hat.
The court’s authority comes from the Florida Probate Code, found in Chapters 731 through 735 of the Florida Statutes, and from the Florida Probate Rules, which govern procedure. Together these set out almost everything that happens in an estate: who can serve as personal representative, what notices must go out, how long creditors have to make claims, and when the estate can finally close.
One thing worth saying plainly: the probate court is not adversarial by default. Most estates are not lawsuits. The court’s everyday role is administrative oversight — checking that the right steps happen in the right sequence. It becomes a true courtroom battle only when someone contests a will, objects to an accounting, or fights over who should be in charge.
The Core Functions of Florida’s Probate Court
The court performs several distinct jobs over the life of an estate. For a beneficiary, each one is a checkpoint that affects when you get paid.
- Validating the will. The court determines whether the document offered is the decedent’s last valid will. It checks that it was signed with the formalities Florida requires under Section 732.502 — in writing, signed by the testator, and witnessed by two people who signed in each other’s presence.
- Appointing the personal representative. Florida uses the term “personal representative” rather than “executor.” The court issues Letters of Administration, the document that gives that person legal power to act for the estate.
- Supervising administration. The court ensures assets are inventoried, creditors are notified, valid debts and taxes are paid, and the estate is handled according to the will or, if there is no will, the intestacy rules in Chapter 732.
- Protecting creditors and beneficiaries. The court enforces deadlines, hears objections, and can remove a personal representative who breaches their duties.
- Authorizing distribution and closing the estate. Nothing is distributed and the estate cannot formally close until the court is satisfied that obligations have been met.
Validating the Will and Determining Heirs
When a person dies with a will, the original document is deposited with the clerk and offered for probate. A self-proving will — one signed with a notarized affidavit under Section 732.503 — usually moves through this stage smoothly because the witnesses do not need to be tracked down years later. Without that affidavit, the court may require a witness to confirm the signature, which slows things down.
If there is no will, the person died intestate, and the court applies Florida’s intestacy statutes to decide who inherits. The surviving spouse and descendants take priority, in shares fixed by Sections 732.102 and 732.103. Beneficiaries sometimes assume “no will means a free-for-all.” It is the opposite — the statute is rigid, and the court follows it precisely.
Appointing and Overseeing the Personal Representative
The personal representative is the person who actually does the work: gathering assets, paying bills, filing tax returns, and ultimately handing out inheritances. Florida law sets qualifications — generally, a personal representative must be a Florida resident, or, if a non-resident, a close relative as described in Section 733.304. The court will not simply rubber-stamp whoever volunteers. It reviews priority of appointment under Section 733.301, where a person named in the will comes first, followed by those chosen by a majority of beneficiaries.
Once appointed, the personal representative is a fiduciary. That word matters to beneficiaries. It means the representative must act in the estate’s interest, not their own, and must keep beneficiaries reasonably informed. If they do not — if they stop communicating, mismanage assets, or pay themselves before paying you — the court is where you go to compel an accounting or seek their removal under Section 733.504.
How the Probate Court Moves an Estate Toward Distribution
For beneficiaries, the most useful way to understand the court is as a timeline enforcer. Here is the typical sequence a Florida estate follows under court supervision:
- Petition for administration is filed. The case opens in the county of the decedent’s residence.
- Letters of Administration are issued. The personal representative gains legal authority. Until this happens, no one can lawfully access estate bank accounts or sell property.
- Notice to creditors is published and served. Known creditors are notified directly; others are reached through a published notice. Under Section 733.702, most creditors have three months from publication to file a claim.
- The inventory is filed. Within 60 days of issuance of letters, the personal representative files an inventory of estate assets, per the Florida Probate Rules.
- Claims and debts are resolved. Valid claims are paid in the statutory order; questionable ones can be objected to and litigated.
- Distribution and final accounting. Once debts, taxes, and expenses are handled, the representative proposes distributions and files a final accounting, and the court authorizes closing.
That creditor period is the single biggest reason distributions take time. Even a clean, uncontested estate generally cannot safely distribute everything until the creditor window has closed, because the personal representative can be held personally liable for paying beneficiaries ahead of legitimate creditors. So when you ask “why is this taking months,” the honest answer is often: the court-mandated creditor process has to run its course first.
Formal Versus Summary Administration
Florida offers more than one path through probate, and which one applies dramatically changes how long you wait. Formal administration is the full process described above, used for most estates. Summary administration, governed by Chapter 735, is a streamlined option available when the estate’s non-exempt assets are worth $75,000 or less, or when the decedent has been dead for more than two years. Summary administration skips the appointment of a personal representative and can resolve in weeks rather than months.
There is also disposition without administration for very small estates where assets barely exceed final expenses. New York handles this division of procedures differently; if you also have ties to that state, it is worth understanding that , each with its own timeline and thresholds. The point for Florida beneficiaries is simple: ask early which track your estate is on, because it sets your expectations for everything that follows.
When the Probate Court Becomes a Courtroom: Disputes and Litigation
Most of the time the probate judge never holds a contested hearing. But the court is also the forum for genuine fights, and beneficiaries are frequently the ones who bring them. The court has authority to hear:
- Will contests — challenges based on lack of capacity, undue influence, fraud, or improper execution.
- Objections to the accounting — when a beneficiary believes the numbers do not add up or fees are excessive.
- Petitions to remove a personal representative who has breached fiduciary duty.
- Disputes over asset valuation, homestead status, and elective share — the surviving spouse’s right under Section 732.201 to claim a percentage of the estate regardless of the will.
If you are a beneficiary who suspects something is wrong — a sibling acting as representative who has gone silent, an accounting that never arrived, an asset that seems to have vanished — the probate court is exactly where your remedy lives. You have standing to petition the court, demand an accounting, and ask a judge to intervene. You do not have to wait and hope.
These disputes are where experienced counsel earns its keep. The procedural rules are unforgiving, deadlines are short, and the burden of proof in a will contest can shift in ways that surprise non-lawyers. Firms that handle estate litigation across jurisdictions, such as Morgan Legal’s team that handles , see the same patterns Florida courts see, and that cross-state perspective often helps untangle a stuck estate. For Florida-specific matters, the firm’s works directly within the circuit court system described here.
What the Probate Court Does Not Do
It helps to be clear about the court’s limits. The probate court does not govern assets that pass outside probate — and a great deal of property does exactly that. Life insurance with a named beneficiary, retirement accounts with designations, jointly titled real estate with rights of survivorship, and assets held in a properly funded living trust all transfer without court involvement.
This is why some beneficiaries receive certain assets quickly while the rest of the estate crawls. The trust pays out on its own schedule; the probate estate moves on the court’s. If you are unsure which category your inheritance falls into, that is one of the first questions to bring to a probate attorney. You can review how trust and non-probate transfers work on our wills and estate planning resources, and our Florida probate overview walks through the local filing process in more detail.
Why This Matters for Palm Beach Beneficiaries
Palm Beach County sees a high volume of estate matters, in part because of its retiree population and significant real property values. That means homestead questions, elective share claims, and out-of-state heirs are common — exactly the issues that turn a routine administration into a contested one. The probate court is equipped to handle all of it, but it moves at the pace the statutes dictate, not the pace a waiting beneficiary would prefer.
If your distribution feels stalled, the constructive move is rarely to pressure the personal representative directly. It is to understand where the estate sits in the court-supervised sequence and, if necessary, to ask the court itself to act. A short consultation can usually tell you whether the delay is normal creditor-period waiting or a real problem worth raising with a judge. When you are ready, our Palm Beach probate team can review your situation and tell you exactly where things stand.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does Florida probate take before beneficiaries are paid?
Formal administration typically runs six months to a year, largely because the court-mandated creditor period requires at least three months after notice is published before the estate can safely distribute assets. Summary administration, available for estates of $75,000 or less or when the decedent has been dead over two years, can finish in a matter of weeks. Contested estates can take considerably longer.
Can a beneficiary force the personal representative to provide information?
Yes. A personal representative is a fiduciary and owes beneficiaries reasonable communication and an accounting. If they go silent or refuse, a beneficiary can petition the probate court to compel an accounting and, under Section 733.504, seek removal of a representative who breaches their duties or mismanages estate assets.
Which court handles probate in Palm Beach County, Florida?
Florida has no standalone probate court. Probate is handled in the probate division of the circuit court in the county where the decedent lived. In Palm Beach County, cases are filed with the Clerk of the Circuit Court and decided by a circuit judge applying the Florida Probate Code (Chapters 731 to 735).
Do all of a person's assets have to go through probate court?
No. Assets with named beneficiaries (life insurance, retirement accounts), jointly held property with rights of survivorship, and assets in a funded living trust pass outside probate. The court only supervises probate assets, which is why some inheritances arrive quickly while the rest of the estate moves on the court’s slower timeline.
What happens in Florida probate if there is no will?
The estate is administered as intestate, and the probate court applies Florida’s intestacy statutes (Sections 732.102 and 732.103) to determine heirs. The surviving spouse and descendants inherit in shares fixed by statute. The process is not discretionary; the court follows the statutory distribution scheme precisely.
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For more on our Florida practice, see our overview of Florida probate administration. Morgan Legal Group's affiliated New York office also handles .
